The visuals of FINSTERWORLD are stunning. Richly detailed,
at times glistening in the sun. Yet what is being depicted could initially seem
inane. A wide cross section of characters, some closely related, and others
coming upon one another through happenstance, go about their days, recalling
the tangled web of relations in Magnolia. Many relations are shown: that of an
aging couple rekindling passion, a far younger couple for whom individual
ambitions and needs create a growing rift, a high school’s pair of alpha males
and an outsider pair between which romantic interests create malicious
intentions, and the liberal minded teacher in charge of their behavior. Through slow and deliberate storytelling, a
hypotheses are formed about the way these social groups navigate their relations.
What they have in common is a shared national identity, one that is made out to
be overshadowed by the reach of a dark history. This manifests as feelings of
shame, either of the self or the surrounding culture. Sometimes. Other characters, the young in
particular, are often at odds with those of the adults. Conflicts between
teacher and student, parent and young adult offspring arise.
The film also deals with those forming fascinations with
aspects of life that the mainstream majority would be uncomfortable with –
‘fetishes’ being the shorthand. A man who provides pedicures and therapeutic
treatment for people’s feet has an all-encompassing attraction to them,
including those of an elderly woman he treats. A traffic officer is a “furry,”
someone with an interest in wearing head to toe body suits resembling animals
that maintain human characteristics. These interests are not ridiculed. Rather,
they are shown with sensitivity and related back to more general difficulty being
at ease with oneself.
Director Frauke Finsterwalder masterfully brings about a
change of tone from neutral to dark, as when the sky darkens and clouds gather
ominously to signal a brooding storm.
The cruelty of high school students put at odds with each other due to
social class hierarchical differences and budding hormones comes to the fore.
The police officer’s need to express his desire to his wife, a frustrated
documentary filmmaker, threatens to lead to a severe disconnect between the
two.
Characters’ lives are threaded together in absorbing ways
leading to results that defy conventional notions of karma. Perhaps much like
life as we know it, fates are not always deserving. Yet, there is also the
potential for those seemingly hopeless to connect with the world around them to
experience gratifying instances of community.
FINSTERWORLD plays as
part of the 2014 Kino Festival of German Films in New York on Monday, June 16,
Sunday, June 15 and Tuesday, June 17 at 4 pm and 9:30 pm. On Tuesday, there
will also be a free talk held with director Frauke Finsterwalder and
screenwriter Christian Kracht, From Script to Screen, held at the Deutsch Hause
at NYU. Visit the website for more
details or to buy tickets.
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